NWC builds Sound of Music cast with local elementary students

Northwest Catholic High School in West Hartford is renowned for is annual spring musical. In recent years, the Dramateurs have delighted audiences with The Little Mermaid, Into the Woods, and Godspell. This March will be no different — theatergoers will fill the school’s Rice Auditorium for four outstanding performances. What will be different, however, are the young children who will grace the stage this spring.

From Thursday, March 26 through Sunday, March 29, Northwest Catholic will present Rogers and Hammerstein’s family favorite The Sound of Music. NWC Performing Arts Chair Sara Avery said, "We are especially excited this year to welcome students from four different West Hartford schools — Smith, Webster Hill, Wolcott, and St. Timothy’s.” “Our little actors,” as Avery affectionately calls them, are joining the cast in the roles of the youngest Von Trapp children. Avery said the high school students are enjoying working with the children, adding, “Our cast spans from age 18 down to our youngest, who is 6!”

Directors Sara Avery and Kate Morran, both teachers at the school, chose The Sound of Music this year for several reasons, one being they knew they had the perfect combination of actors to make it soar. Avery also said it was time for the Dramateurs to perform a piece by Rodgers and Hammerstein. “Believe it or not, in my 17 years at Northwest Catholic, this is my first Rodgers and Hammerstein,” admitted Avery. She was also quick to add that The Sound of Music remains topical and relevant, even considering its age. “And the music! You can’t beat it!”

Avery explained how Northwest Catholic is a special place to produce any kind of theater, but this show, in particular, speaks to the power of song to lift us. She concluded, “We are so happy to be able to connect that with our faith and our community.”

Tickets are now on sale for The Sound of Music at northwestcatholic.org/SoundofMusic. Sponsorship and program ad space are also available.

Northwest Catholic High School in West Hartford is a diverse, Catholic, co-ed, college preparatory community, educating the whole person — mind, body, spirit, and imagination since 1961. Learn more at northwestcatholic.org